Look at the Boneyard boards. They make a great retro fish. Mine will get me into anything and with the quad controller fins on it I can paddle into any size wave. Great boards, hand shaped and for a 5'10' you will pay around $500. A couple of shops on LBI sell them (Wave Hog and Brighton Beach) and Wavejammer in Lavallette. Wavejammer has some boards, with dimensions and pics, posted on their website.
If you referring Super fish's by Global Surf; Their longer/higher deck Fish's receiving favorable comments like yourself from variety of riders and experience level. My favorite Shaper adding his "wings" on a 9' (super) Fish http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_l6WRX5dWY
only if you want to forever be marked as a kook & a "summer only" surfer. i second the recommendation of brian wynn. he should be able to do you a board for significantly less than $600 if you stick to plain white & a sanded finish.
all this talk about retro fishes I am gonna put my whole allowance down on the balance of my Legend Retro Fish
if u just beginning and want a cheap board get a caynon i had a 5 11 retro fish it was great and cheap used it up to +2 over head and all the way under paddles super fast and for a first board it is great. after this board then maybe get a custom or something a bit better
Two of my friends love their Wynn fishes - they are a cross between retro and modern. Talk to B. Wynn about your experience and where you intend to ride the board and go from there. His prices seem very reasonable esp. for USA built board. And, you would be developing a relationship with a good shaper from your area (NJ).
I often read comments like the above from East Coast-based folks about retro fish being more suitable for mellow waves, not hollow, ass kicking waves. This always makes me wonder... because the retro fish, before they became retro, were making the chops in places like Big Rock in La Jolla -- not many people will call that a mellow wave especially at 6 to 8 feet.
I understand where your coming from as I learned to skim before actually surfing. Not that I think a retro fish is a bad idea but the boards out there that feel like your skimboard are not the surfboards you want to learn on. Even a custom made board for you will be worthless if you aren't at the level to use it. Be wise with your decision nothing sucks more then buying a cool looking shorty and missing every wave.
nj- Skimmers (good ones) push the edge and take the hardest poundings. That doesnt sound like your typical kook to me (nor your typical retro rider). Dude should just get a hp shortboard, maybe in a fish tail... everyone else- 7s superfish isnt a retro fish, its a super fish.
oh and i forgot another major thing, 90% of the time i surf this will probably be waist high lines when tide is too low to skim. i just want a small board that can cruise on weaker waves
i don't really give a crap about skimboarding...not knocking it (never even actually mentioned it in my previous posts, in fact), just not my thing. if that's what the OP likes to do w/ his time, then good for him... however, the only people i've ever heard say good things about the 7s super fish are true-blue kooks & summer surfers. in other words, no one who knows anything about surfing or surfboard design. i've never seen a guy out on one of those things on a big, cold winter day, but i have seen tons of them come into surf shops for repairs b/c the plugs are put in poorly & the glassing doesn't hold up to any kind of heavy use. again, to the OP-talk to brian wynn. he will set you straight w/ a board designed exactly for what you're looking for, be it a retro fish or something else entirely. nothing beats a good, long, honest conversation w/ a talented, knowledgeable shaper when you're not sure what you want in a surfboard.
There's a reason "retro" is in the name, we have evolved. Sure they're cute and fun at times, but to have a 70's style twin fin as your only board is not a good choice. There are many modern fishy shapes that work as a good all around board for most of the conditions you will be able to comfortably handle. The Lost RNF someone mentioned is a good example. Just get it fat, wide, and flat....the key being not too flat, you still want some nose rocker, especially if you're new to it. We are surfing beach breaks here, not slopey west coast reefs.
sorry, just seemed a little silly. I gots no beef with you holms, but he doesnt care about your (our) localist agenda, he just wants to go surfing.
FYI - My friend picked up a new 7.3 7s Super Fish spring of this year. He usually doesn't buy popouts but the price was too good (surf shop down south was closing its doors for good). For the limited use its seen the board looks like it was a loaner in a surf school. His is a traditional poly / resin board. The issue is the deck. Its has severe pressure dings / onions all over. He's having the onions repaired and a deck patch put on to keep it water tight and hopefully a little stronger. The bottom line is he paid $400.00 for it which at the time looked like a good deal. Now after 7 months its costing another $125.00 to get it fixed. It would really suck if he paid full price. Go to a local shaper - work a deal that you can live with and have a quality piece. If anything goes wrong you have someone to go to. Most guys I know who do repairs would rather not work on popouts because of poor quality issues.
Buy quality - buy local You can't go wrong Jim from Legend & Brian Wynn. Both local NJ shapers that stand behind their product. Another shaper who makes some killer fish is Tim Nolte from OBX. http://www.timnoltesurfboards.com/
Not for nothing but I've had a 6'2" Wave Tools (Costa Mesa, CA) fish that has held up sturdy for going on 7 years now. It's my go-to board for waist to head high. I know this is an east coast forum and we want to promote local shapers that surf the same waves we do, but Lance Collins is a throwback 80s surfer that makes some really good quality boards that could be worth a look even if just to get some perspective.
Rod, you have an excellent point. But the Big Rock crew of which you speak were kneeboarders (the Huffman bros, Myrman, Skinner, etc) who exclusively rode fishes shaped by Steve Lis. Standup riders at the LJ reefs usually rode pintails in the 70's. A couple of guys back in the day would ride the fish at some of the reefs around the Cliffs area, but those reefs aren't quite as critical. The thing to remember about the Fish is that it is almost strictly a fast, straight down-the-line board when the surf is fast and hollow. The flat rocker and lack of curve in the template dictates this. Conversely, the flatness and wideness of the shape makes it a good choice on flatter, mushier days and allows for fun carving.
You kinda Tuff on the Lad about skimboading when he's seeking help on board choices Its Christmas share the love You made some good points about 7s superfish manufactured by Global, but they fit a market and price point for the weekend warrior like buying off the rack at a big box store. Sometimes boards are like dating, have to try a few out until you find the "one" that fits. I will say this about Global, they seemed to have found a little niche in there longer Super Fish's (7's & 8's) for long boarders to drop done in size for a more fluid ride like a fish yet maintaining LB float & paddling.
how do you figure? i never said anything against skimboarding or negative about it in any way, shape, or form. the thrust of all my postings in this thread have been in regards to the direction the "lad" should go w/ his board search. i'm just not sure a full-on retro fish is a good idea for the OP's needs &/or (unstated) ability level. at the risk of sounding like i'm being "tuff" on you, perhaps you should review your reading comprehension skills. as for global, et. al., IMHO, they represent everything wrong w/ surfing today. they don't give a damn about surfing as a culture or a lifestyle. they're just out to make a buck & cash in on it's popularity. local shapers & other genuine surfboard manufacturers could easily fill the niche taken by the superfish if the void were to reappear, & they could likely do it better, both in board design & durability. anyone who buys that crap is a kook & has earned my ire. i will drop in on anyone i see riding those pieces of crap.
